Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Radio Kossuth Good morning, Hungary! gave an interview on his show.

In today's European economic situation, steps based on each other must be taken in order to remedy the problems. The root of the problem - which is the war - cannot be remedied, which is why the war economy remains - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Kossuth Rádió Good morning, Hungary! in his show.

According to the prime minister, if the war were to end, the economic conditions would change quickly, and a sudden peace would be very good because hundreds and thousands of people would not lose their lives every day.

The focus should not be on war, but on peace, but no one else, apart from us and the Vatican, really represents this position, he added.

According to Viktor Orbán, there are three things to do in this case

Jobs must be protected,

which is not bad for us, as there are tens of thousands of vacant positions in Hungary.

The second task is to break inflation.

It was a tough nut to crack, but forcing the price speculators to end unjustified price increases by force was a big step in this direction, said the Prime Minister, who believes that single-digit inflation at the end of the year is definitely achievable. In August, another serious step can be taken in this area.

The third area is the struggle for growth.

According to the prime minister, growth in the minds of people should be linked to wage increases. If there is no growth, then it is not possible to raise wages, even though raising wages is another antidote to inflation. That is why it is important that the Hungarian economy is able to return as soon as possible from the shock caused by the war to the growth path to which we have become accustomed in recent years.

Viktor Orbán stated that the second quarter figure is not good, but this quarter is already behind us and

the third quarter is already going much better and when the relevant data comes out, we will see that the numbers support this.

The Hungarian economy did well in the mud

Viktor Orbán said that the first quarter was difficult for everyone, but as he said, "the Hungarian economy stood up well, and the people also fought well".

The Prime Minister said: "The actors of the economy did not give up. They didn't demolish, they fought."

Viktor Orbán said that there were price increases in stores that even rising wages could not compete with.

"Now that we have cut back on inflation, wage increases will be able to offset it"

- he continued.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the expected single-digit inflation at the end of the year is still high, "we cannot sit back". As he said, the lowest inflation we need to achieve in 2024 is 6 percent inflation, but he believes that 5 percent can also be achieved. He added: this is tolerable inflation, if the interest rates on the loans necessary for the operation of the economy also decreased.

The world is watching Budapest

When asked what is the significance of Hungary being able to host the World Athletics Championships in such a crisis-filled period, the Prime Minister explained: the key in this matter is the strategic plan precisely developed by the government.

"In 2010, after taking over a country and capital in a dilapidated state, we decided to make Budapest the nation's capital. After all, it should be a city that everyone wants to see. And for this, we had to plan a new renovation strategy," said Viktor Orbán, who said that the government first set the goal of renovating Hungexpo so that the exhibitions held here would be put on the map of Europe. Next came the renovation of the cultural facilities, the Várkert Bazaar, the Vigadó, and thirdly, the organization of various sports events was tendered, as these also mean a lot economically, but most importantly, they direct the world's attention to Budapest.

"The Aquatic World Cup, the Europa League final, these are all events that make people visit the capital, and the Athletics World Cup only increases the desire of foreigners to visit," said the Prime Minister .

There will also be political and business negotiations on the occasion of the World Athletics Championships and August 20

The Prime Minister will participate in more than a dozen official bilateral meetings on the occasion of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and the national holiday on August 20.

The prime minister said: the Turkish president, the Serbian president and the emir of Qatar will also come to Budapest in the next few days. He added: Hungary's "political friends" will also be here from the Central Asian region, such as Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, as well as many businessmen from all over the world, primarily from Western Europe and China.

He indicated: political and business negotiations will be held, and as prime minister, he will have more than a dozen official bilateral meetings on August 20 and the World Cup.

Happy birthday, Hungary!

The Prime Minister stated that the fact that we are still standing on such solid foundations is all thanks to our King Szent István and his state organizing activities.

On Hungary's birthday, every year on August 20, we owe our state-founding king a debt of gratitude for allowing us to live as Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin for one thousand and one hundred years.

There is no peace without strength

Viktor Orbán said that survival requires strength, both economic and military. The Prime Minister emphasized: "It is very important that we do not have workers in uniform, but warriors."

Peace army, but it should be deployable, he said.

The government invests a lot in the army, but as the prime minister said, it is not sufficient on its own. We need our own military industry, and this realization has guided the government's work in recent years.

As he said: we are NATO members, and this entails obligations, 2 percent of the country's GDP must be spent on the armed forces.

He put it this way: Zalaegerszeg can be proud that one of the best armored military vehicles in the world can roll off their assembly line.

The prime minister said that the production of Rheinmetall's military vehicles can be realized through cooperation with German industry, but with significant Hungarian ownership.

He emphasized: the Ukrainian-Russian war taught everyone that the question is not only how many weapons you have, but also how much you can produce.

He said that we Hungarians have always wanted to live in peace, but "there is no peace without the strength necessary for defense".

Source: MTI / hirado.hu

Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer